Recipes
Fried Rice with Tofu
Fried rice is the king of one-pan, one dish meals. A rice cooker makes it convenient and fast. My rice cooker is a Zojirushi and only cost 35 dollars, and I use it constantly. As for tofu, you can use plain firm tofu, or try some of the nice seasoned tofus on the market, especially the gingery "Asian-style" types, which are great in this recipe. The sugar is a "secret" ingredient. I'm not sure why, but it makes the rice a lot tastier.
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup plain long grain dry rice, jasmine, basmati, or even brown rice, cooked (1 cup dry makes about 2 cups cooked)
Frozen peas and carrot mix, 1 cup thawed in microwave
2 cups Fresh bean sprouts, washed thoroughly
1 cup of firm tofu cubes
1/4 chopped onion or 3 chopped green onions
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup dry sherry or mirin (Chinese cooking wine)
1 teaspoon of sugar
4 eggs, beaten
This recipe is a lot more fun if you pre-make most of the stuff in it, then just throw it all together in the pan like a stir fry. Start this recipe by cooking the rice in the rice cooker or on the stovetop. Give the rice plenty of time to cool, though you can cook this dish with hot rice if necessary. Thaw the peas and carrots in a small bowl in the microwave. Wash the bean sprouts and strain them, put aside. Then chop your tofu.
Fry the eggs with a little oil. I just make one big omelet out of them, then I chop the omelet into pieces on a cutting board and leave it sit there for later.
Now the fun part, the stir fry. Put the oil in the pan and heat to SUPER HOT, throw in the tofu and the regular chopped onion, if you're using it. Fry for two minutes or less and watch out for spatters. Quickly add the rice, which will sizzle, stirring away any rice clumps. Add the fried chopped egg, the peas and carrots, and lastly, the sprouts and green onions. Now add the soy sauce, sugar, and mirin. I don't even mix them together first, I just throw them in and stir fast.